Bullz-Eye Blog » Halloweenhttp://blog.bullz-eye.com
men's lifestyle blog, blog for guysFri, 09 Dec 2016 19:32:13 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.10Missing Reels: “The Frighteners” (1996)http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2016/10/24/missing-reels-the-frighteners-1996/
http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2016/10/24/missing-reels-the-frighteners-1996/#commentsMon, 24 Oct 2016 13:51:53 +0000http://blog.bullz-eye.com/?p=59288Missing Reels examines overlooked, unappreciated or unfairly maligned movies. Sometimes these films haven’t been seen by anyone, and sometimes they’ve been seen by everyone… who loathed them. Sometimes they’ve simply been forgotten. But in any case, Missing Reels argues that they deserve to be seen and admired by more people.

When most moviegoers hear the name Peter Jackson, they think of a sprawling fantasy adventure like he delivered with “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies. However, Jackson got his start with low budget works, first with the independently made horror comedy “Bad Taste” (1987) and then with the deeply profane Muppets send-up “Meet the Feebles” (1989). While popular in New Zealand, these were mainly cult films for international audiences who had to purposefully seek out these quirky and raunchy examples of genre by the then-little known Kiwi auteur. His first real brush with international acclaim came with “Dead Alive” in 1992 (also known as “Braindead”), which was a gory zombie flick that included some of the most gruesome, outlandish and hilarious effects seen on film since Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead 2.” Gorehounds and horror fiends had found a new sensation with Jackson and reveled in the madness he was bringing to their screens and VHS rental stores.

The filmmaker really broke out internationally with “Heavenly Creatures,” his poetic tale of magical realism that centered on the dangerous romance between two (ultimately) murderous teen girls played by a young Kate Winslet and a young Melanie Lynskey. The film garnered acclaim outside of the genre crowd and proved that Jackson was a versatile filmmaker capable not just of incredible sequences (usually involving gore) but also of truly understanding the emotional depths of his characters.

Based on the successes of those two films, it makes sense that the New Zealand director was soon brought over to the States to work with producer Robert Zemeckis on his first American co-production (though the film was shot in New Zealand). Originally, the film was to be made under the auspices of a “Tales from the Crypt” title (like “Demon Knight” or “Bordello of Blood”), but eventually it was made a film in its own right, though it did keep a lot of the gallows humor one might associate with the EC Comics’ tradition. “The Frighteners” is a 1996 film that stars Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Chi McBride, Jeffrey Combs and Dee Wallace Stone that more people should be aware of and seek out to watch.

The last film Jackson made before venturing to Middle Earth, “The Frighteners,” is a fun spookhouse ride of a film that features Fox as a small town man who uses his abilities to see ghosts to ply a trade as a psychic investigator. Meanwhile, a specter that bears an awful close resemblance to the Grim Reaper is haunting the town and killing off its unwitting folk. The film isn’t terribly scary, although there are a few surprising jump scares and orchestral stings that may make some skittish viewers recoil in fright, but the film is a lot of fun and works so well because Jackson clearly put a lot of thought into the world (and its rules) he was creating with his various phantoms. The film also acts as a stepping stone between his more practical F/X work and his CGI work, melding the two here as he did with “Lord of the Rings” by using CGI in ways that hadn’t been used before.

Some of the jokes are juvenile and obvious, but it’s part of that haunted house vibe that carnival barker Jackson has instilled in “The Frighteners.” It’s entertaining to explore this world of haunts and spooks, with scumbag conman Fox leading the way and interacting with the denizens of the dead. And while the mystery as to who is behind the killing isn’t too hard to crack, there is a great reversal that shows off one actress’ abilities to play a deeply complicated role and makes the final act an exciting race against time and death.

Also of note is Jeffrey Combs as FBI Agent Milton Dammers, a man who has spent 20 years submerged in the occult and undercover in cults for the sake of his country. What has emerged is a deeply troubled, borderline psychotic personality that goes off on odd tangents, looks for clues where there are none, and reacts nauseously to women screaming at him. Combs practically steals the show as Dammers and is a hilarious foil to Fox’s Frank Bannister as someone wrapped up in a world he can’t even begin to understand.

The design work on the ghosts, especially John Astin’s “Judge” character (designed by Rick Baker) is phenomenal, and Jackson does a great job of filling the screen with all sorts of ways to abuse those in spectral forms. The Reaper character’s CGI hasn’t aged particularly well, but it’s still a cool visual and was pretty much reused when Jackson was designing the Ringwraiths for “Lord of the Rings.” It’s a simple, ancient appearance, but it manages to be creepy and foreboding even when it strains the credulity of what computer imagery can do. Even with his shoestring budget beginning in “Bad Taste,” Jackson has always been able to deliver excellent sequences with memorable visuals and that continues into “The Frighteners” as well.

Many people have probably not sought out much of Jackson’s work pre-“Lord of the Rings,” or if they have, they may have only seen his more obscure New Zealand contributions and glossed over this studio work. “The Frighteners” lacks the profane sensibility of his earlier output and the tenderness of “Heavenly Creatures,” but it does suggest this is a filmmaker with a real perspective that can create a world to visit and make an adventure out of it. Not all horror films are great Halloween films; some are too dark or misanthropic to be festive enough for the holiday. In order to be a great Halloween movie, it needs to be lighthearted, fun, accessible and remind viewers what it was like to tell ghost stories as a child. Peter Jackson’s “The Frighteners” is just that kind of film – one that people of all ages can enjoy and watch with glee, as it moves along at a quick pace and is full of macabre humor and impressively icky images.

Laughing and screaming are not so different, when you think about it. Both are involuntary reactions to outside stimulus that betray the true emotion of a person. Yet when people talk about horror films, they rarely talk about the crucial element that comedy plays in crafting a successful scary movie. And while not every horror movie uses (or needs) comedy in its storytelling, especially those films that are more interested in cultivating an atmosphere of dread and doom, those that do tend to be crowd pleasers that deliver a more complete experience for the audience.

There’s always been a certain wicked sense of humor in horror, whether it’s the clever wordplay of Edgar Allen Poe or H.P. Lovecraft, the ironic morality tales of comics like “Tales from the Crypt,” or even Stephen King’s moments of levity in his gruesome tales of the macabre. And while many point to “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” as the watershed moment where comedy and horror collided, there are earlier examples in films like “Bride of Frankenstein” that have truly funny moments embedded within them. With the rise of a more cultivated viewership, filmmakers have gone on to inject more comedy into their horror fare. Part of this is a recognition of tired tropes and clichés, but part of it serves a real purpose in telling a scary story.

It’s hard to maintain that sense of foreboding doom for an entire film, and requires an excellent artist to do so (see this year’s “The Playground” for an example). But it also becomes incredibly self-serious and too dour for audiences, especially if the horrific payoffs are already televised to the audiences (they know when the killer is going to strike, which one of the dead meat teens is going to go next, etc.). Injecting humor into the proceedings allows filmmakers to get ahead of the heckling audience member and to let them know the film is in on its own jokes and shortcomings. Sometimes this can take the form of metatextual dialogue, getting ahead of the cliché before inverting it in some manner, that makes it work even more effectively. Films like “Scream” and “Cabin in the Woods” play with expectations by letting audiences know the filmmakers are in on the trope but then cleverly subvert them and make them even more powerful by defying expectations. It’s a magic trick; the magician says what’s going to happen, the audience doesn’t believe it, but then he pulls off the trick and the audience is still enraptured by his performance.

By getting ahead of the criticisms and the jokes, it makes the audience feel like they are on the haunted ride along with the filmmaker. It boosts their egos in their own intelligence but then offers them surprises by twisting the tropes to their own purposes. Injecting comedy into horror also does a great job of relieving tension, with moments of levity providing some breathing space for the viewers in between scares. This is why jokes land so well in films like “Jason Lives: Friday the 13th – Part VI,” the remake of “The Blob” or “Night of the Creeps,” because in between those gruesome death scenes are chances for the audience to laugh. It can take some of the steam out of the punch of the scares, especially when the film lands too far in the “comedy” half of “horror-comedy,” but in the deft hands of a skilled filmmaker it acts as a salve for the audience to know they can enjoy the ride and delight in the wickedness unfolding before them.

The other reason for injecting so much humor into modern horror fare is that it humanizes the characters. Life isn’t just a dour, downward spiral of misery, even if it occasionally feels that way. To create a fully fleshed character in a film, they have to portray multiple emotions and not just be scared for their life. By using jokes, it shows intelligence in the character while also endearing him or her to audiences; they’re reacting the same way with the same gallows humor that many of us would employ in the same horrific situation.

That gallows humor has been on full display as of late with the increasing rise of horror-comedies. From “Shaun of the Dead” and “Dead Alive” (aka “Braindead”) to “Deathgasm” and “Housebound,” more and more films have adopted a two-fisted approach to their tones. They still deliver some excellent gore and horror staples, but they use the comedy to underscore the absurdity of the situation. Audiences have grown more sophisticated in recent years, so in order to sell them on a ridiculous premise like a zombie invasion or the demonic possession of a town, filmmakers use jokes as a way to approach the insanity they are about to unleash on screens.

In “Dead Alive,” a zombie baby coming out of the face of a woman is ludicrous, but Peter Jackson knows this and uses its horrific appearance as a chance to gross out viewers while also putting enough emphasis on the humor to allow people to (perhaps uncomfortably) laugh it off as well. It becomes a cartoon, albeit a grotesque one full of blood spray and viscera. A good filmmaker can shift tones to have audiences rolling in laughter one minute and appalled by what they see the next.

Humor and horror aren’t so far removed from each other. Humor can help sidestep clichés of a tired genre, or it can bolster characterization while bringing the audience into the world of the film. It’s harder to switch from screams to laughs, but there are plenty of filmmakers who have shown they are adept at juggling the different tones to deliver some frightfully funny flicks. The point of both comedy and horror films is to elicit an audible (and visible) response from the audience – whether it’s guffaws of laughter or screams of disgust. By combining the two, filmmakers are able to truly impact their viewers and get them to react to the film rather than sitting there stoic and bored. In the end, like some of the best Halloween candy, they are two great tastes that taste even better together.

]]>http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2016/10/17/ha-ha-horror-why-horror-and-comedy-go-together-so-well/feed/0Drink of the Week: The Corpse Reviver #3http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2015/10/30/drink-of-the-week-the-corpse-reviver-3/
http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2015/10/30/drink-of-the-week-the-corpse-reviver-3/#commentsFri, 30 Oct 2015 16:00:52 +0000http://blog.bullz-eye.com/?p=49559Halloween is just about here and I can’t think of a better time to do yet another in the long series of drinks known as Corpse Reviver. This is my fifth entry in what amounts to a veritable cocktail subgenre — you can see the others here, here, here, and here — and also the third in a recent series of drinks stolen straight from Robert Hess, video star and author of “The Essential Bartender’s Guide.” (See the other two here, and here!)

The Corpse Reviver #3 is perhaps the least well known drink bearing the name, which originally meant that these were originally considered to be appropriate morning hangover “cures.” Indeed, Hess on his Drinkboy website admits that he isn’t even sure where he first saw this recipe. It’s not in “The Savoy Cocktail Book,” which features three other corpse reviving recipes. You will also find radically differing drinks,also claiming to be Corpse Reviver #3 around the Interwebs.

I might eventually get around to looking at those, but this recipe is the one that got my attention, and I think it’s pretty dandy. It’s reddish, on the sweet side, but balanced out with bitter and tart flavors, so I think it’s a pretty appropriate Halloween treat while your watching scary movies, trying not to be embarrassed about your “Sexy Donald Trump” costume, or what have you.

Combine the ingredient in a cocktail shaker, shake very vigorously, and strain into a well-chilled cocktail glass. If it turns out well, savor the drink. After all, corpse revivers that actually work are not in abundance.

****

This is a drink that can work really well, but watch your choice of ingredients. I really enjoyed my Corpse Reviver #3 when it was made with Reynal brandy, my not-quite-Cognac default brew. I experimented twice with an Armenian brand that’s easy to find in my North Hollywood neighborhood, Ararat. It seemed fine the first time, but a second experiment found that the more complex, harsher and sweeter brew threw off the balance of the drink.

I had more luck making high end substitutions for the triple sec called for in Hess’s recipe. Both Cointreau and Grand Marnier added a bit of additional bitterness to the drink that I think a lot of people would prefer and I certainly didn’t mind.

In any case, every version of the drink I made came out nice and reddish and, when shaken enough, really cold which I think is kind of essential for this one. As for being a hangover cure, I wouldn’t know, though let’s say I have my doubts. Now, excuse me while I try to revive the corpse of classical Hollywood horror.

]]>http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2014/10/31/victoria-schoolgirl-outfit/feed/0Picture of the Day: Holly Weber dressed as a nursehttp://blog.bullz-eye.com/2014/10/30/holly-weber-nurse/
http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2014/10/30/holly-weber-nurse/#commentsThu, 30 Oct 2014 19:04:23 +0000http://blog.bullz-eye.com/?p=40228It’s funny how some people complain about women wearing sexy Halloween costumes. If you don’t like them – don’t wear them! Many women love dressing up on Halloween and many of the love sexy/slutty outfits cause it let’s them basically be someone else for the night. And of course they can be the life of the party!

With that in mind, here’s the beautiful Holly Weber in a sexy nurse outfit from her Bullz-Eye shoot, which would also be perfect for a sexy Halloween costume!

Charles Tillman is so good, you take him for granted. Even during an 11-year career as a member of some of the fiercest defenses in NFL history, his consistent production and greatness are rarely recognized outside of Chicago.

“Peanut” owns the Bears’ career records for defensive touchdowns (9), interceptions returned for touchdowns (8) and forced fumbles (39). Thanks to his signature move the “Peanut Punch,” his 10 forced fumbles last year set an NFL single-season record, and the four fumbles he forced in a game against the Titans a year ago is the all-time single game record. His 36 career interceptions are just two away from tying Gary Fencik for the Bears’ franchise record.

With two Pro Bowl selections and an appearance in Super Bowl XLI, Tillman’s overall body of work solidifies him as the best cornerback in the history of the Chicago Bears and potentially as the most disruptive defensive back of all-time.

You’re working with Proctor & Gamble on a campaign for breast cancer awareness. Tell me about that.

I partnered with P&G to encourage women to have an early detection plan with breast cancer. And, for the men in their lives, to motivate the women in their lives to create a plan. Everyone talks about how October is breast cancer awareness month. We have pink gloves, pink shoes, pink wrist bands, but it doesn’t just end there. Breast cancer doesn’t wait; it comes when it wants to. And you shouldn’t wait. Go to PGEveryday.com/bca and get the app. This app will give you notifications that you need to go see your doctor this month, or get a checkup another time, and it gives you a reminder to have an early detection plan. If breast cancer is detected early enough, there’s a 98% survival rate. I’m not a math guy, but I will take those odds.

You’re the most physical corner in the NFL, which for some reason is very rare in the game; to have a real physical corner that can stop the run and jam receivers at the line. Why is that? Why are so many corners soft, and can we blame Deion Sanders for that?

No, I don’t think you can blame Deion for that. I think it’s just what is required of our defense. And it’s not just me; my other Pro Bowl corner Tim Jennings… he and I are in the same boat. I think there are a lot of physical corners, not just to name myself and Tim. But I think what makes ours more evident is the type of defense that we play. It’s required that our corners make tackles and make plays.

One thing I didn’t realize was how much you traveled as a kid and in your younger life. How has that shaped you as a football player and the way you approach life?

One of the biggest reasons I think I am the way I am is because we moved around a lot. When we moved around a lot, I was just thrown into situations. Example being, I remember one year we left Kansas and moved to Germany. And when I got to this new school, they were doing division. My old school we were just starting to do division but it was going to be in the spring. The new school was already doing division, so I was the kid who had to catch it on the fly. I think that’s how I react to life. I do everything on the fly.

Defense is on the fly, it’s reactive; you have to react to the offense. I have to prevent someone from doing something when they want to do it. Offensively, they know what they’re going to do. Defensively, we don’t have any idea what they’re doing. I definitely think moving around helped shape me and has helped me be a better player.

Speaking of reacting to things you can’t predict, I wanted to talk about the Bears’ 2006 season. Going to the Super Bowl was totally unexpected and the team just had a fantastic year. Can you talk about that year in general and the Super Bowl specifically?

The 2006 season was a special year. We had a great group of guys, a remarkable group of young men who pushed the limit. And really, we had no limit. There was no game we were in doubt of. One of my fondest memories of playing in the NFL was the Arizona Monday Night Football game that we came back and won. It’s my best moment as a professional athlete. There was just something special about us in that game and it wasn’t just the game, it’s how we thought the entire year; that we were unstoppable, unbeatable. Being in the Super Bowl, obviously we lost, but it was a great experience, memories that I’ll take with me the rest of my life. We did something a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to experience.

As far as the Arizona game, even as a fan watching on TV, you could just feel that you guys were taking over. The feeling that you were going to make something happen and win the game was palpable. Do you feel that on the field as well? Is everyone aware of it?

One of the things that stick out to me in that game was at halftime. Olin Kruetz came in the locker room and said, “Hey, buckle your helmets, it’s gonna get physical. We will win this game. I promise you guys we will win this game.” And it’s kind of surreal because they have it on film as he’s saying it and you can feel, literally feel it as he’s saying it. The mind is a powerful tool. It truly was a phenomenal moment, a hell of a year. Great coaches, great staff, great teammates. There was nothing bad about that team that year. It was just perfect in every way.

A play that defines your career for a lot of Bears fans happened in your rookie season against Randy Moss in 2003. With the game on the line, you snatched the ball out of his hands in the end zone to seal the victory, in Rex Grossman’s first career start. How did that play materialize, and what were you thinking in that moment?

Randy Moss was notorious for going up and just catching balls; picking it off and catching it at its highest point. It was backside, he was the only receiver backside, I was a rookie, you do the math; I knew the ball was coming to him. So I just knew that I had to be more physical than him. And, yeah, I came down with the ball.

What keeps your fire going and gives you the desire to play hard every game?

Competition. I hate losing. I like to compete. I think competition brings out the best in anybody; me, you, whoever. I’m sure if one of your bosses came to you and said, “Hey, you and Person X are going to have a competition. Whoever wins gets their own show, plus a million dollar bonus.” I’m sure you’re gonna go out there and bust your ass and do everything you can to win.

CT, we both know already who’s gonna win that.

I’m the same way! I hate to lose. And when I do lose, I don’t lose the lesson, I don’t miss the message. Competition man, it’s great. I think everyone needs competition in life, whether it be myself, you, the President. You look at politics; they’re always in competition over an election, who wants to win. It’s just who we are, it’s what we do.

What’s the biggest change in the NFL you’ve seen during your 11-year career?

The rules hindering the defensive players on how they make plays, on how they tackle.

With Halloween tomorrow, are you going to dress up? Are you going to take the kids out?

I’ve got a couple of dinner engagements so the kids can come to my house after.

Well, I was kind of thinking you could go as yourself. Have you thought that? Just throw on a “Tillman” jersey and go door to door. Everyone would be like, “Wow that guy looked just like Charles Tillman!”

That might not be a bad idea! That’s a good one. I never thought about that.

Then you could just play it off when they inevitably ask you if you are Charles Tillman. “No, I’m not Charles Tillman.”

That’s a good one. I might actually do that in my neighborhood. That’s funny.

I think you should. Final question: Do you have a favorite moment or play of your career that sticks out?

By far the Arizona game. Because you play this game for team, this is a team sport. That was the best team moment I’ve ever had in life and it was a great feeling. It will go down, in my opinion, as the greatest I ever played as a Chicago Bear.

]]>http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2013/10/31/bullz-eye-interviews-chicago-bears-all-pro-charles-tillman-on-breast-cancer-deion-sanders-and-halloween/feed/0Picture of the Day: Katelin Dane in her Daisy Duke outfithttp://blog.bullz-eye.com/2013/10/26/picture-of-the-day-katelin-dane-in-her-daisy-duke-outfit/
http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2013/10/26/picture-of-the-day-katelin-dane-in-her-daisy-duke-outfit/#commentsSat, 26 Oct 2013 19:55:00 +0000http://blog.bullz-eye.com/?p=31613Here’s another great Halloween costume idea for all the hotties out there who want to turn heads at the parties. Katelin Dane is dressed up in a sexy Daisy Duke outfit in her Featured Model Bullz-Eye shoot.

]]>http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2013/10/26/picture-of-the-day-katelin-dane-in-her-daisy-duke-outfit/feed/0Picture of the Day: Stephanie is her schoolgirl outfithttp://blog.bullz-eye.com/2013/10/25/picture-of-the-day-stephanie-is-her-schoolgirl-outfit/
http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2013/10/25/picture-of-the-day-stephanie-is-her-schoolgirl-outfit/#commentsFri, 25 Oct 2013 18:05:28 +0000http://blog.bullz-eye.com/?p=31569We love Halloween as so many women take the opportunity to dress up in the sexiest costumes they can find. it also puts them in the mood for some naughty fun! Here’s the lovely Stephanie in an incredible pose as she sports her schoolgirl outfit. If you’re a hottie planning on dressing up, don’t forget the white panties! Check out more Bullz-Eye models in schoolgirl outfits here.

Halloween is always a big party, so we’re going with some simple but fun for this week’s drink – The Hornitos Pop Rocket. The recipe for this shot is very simple. Start with Hornitos Premium Tequila (Plata), then apply Agave nectar to the rim of the shot glass, and then use Pop Rocks to coat the top of the shot glass. The result is delicious.

There’s nothing like premium tequila to get a party going, and this shot will get everyone’s attention, particularly all the ladies in their sexy Halloween costumes! Hornitos tequila is amazing and it will become one of your favorites.